MOLESTER CHARGED IN VILLA PARK ABUSE

CHICAGO TRIBUNE

A Villa Park man was arrested on child sexual-assault charges after a 6-year-old neighbor told her mother about his actions, police said.

James Cook of the 500 block of West Division Street, Villa Park, who previously had been convicted of child-sex offenses, faces a charge of predatory criminal sexual assault of a child, Villa Park Police Chief Ron Ohlson said Wednesday.

Cook registered as a child-sex offender when he lived in Wheaton, but failed to register in January when he moved to Villa Park, Ohlson said.

Cook was convicted twice of sex crimes with girls in Chicago, one in 1983 and another in 1987. He received a 4-year prison term for each, said DuPage County Assistant State's Atty. Dan Guerin.

The new sexual assault charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 60 years. Cook also was charged with failure to register as a child sex offender.